UMass Chan Medical School: New UMass Chan study finds smoking rates increased in pandemic, looks at related stresses. “The early months of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a net increase in smoking rates among a group of people who had previously participated in a study to quit smoking, according to a new study led by Rajani S. Sadasivam, PhD. The study appeared in the Feb. 5 issue of Nicotine and Tobacco Research.”